


drunken knights

by thesockhop



Category: The Queen's Gambit (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Episode: s01e03 Doubled Pawns, F/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:47:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27678302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesockhop/pseuds/thesockhop
Summary: Beth lands in Cincinnati earlier.
Relationships: Beth Harmon/Benny Watts
Comments: 14
Kudos: 173





	drunken knights

“Standby is the smart traveler’s boon,” Alma declares as they check into their hotel room a half day ahead of schedule. She proceeds to crash on the closer full bed, and it’s tempting to take the other, sleep through the morning. Beth still hasn’t adjusted to sleeping on planes, it’s more like keeping quiet with her eyes shut and waking up more exhausted.

“I’m getting breakfast downstairs,” Beth says. 

Alma murmurs something indecipherable into the pillow, and Beth grabs her chess set. Based on the three in-flight cocktails, Alma will start snoring soon and she doesn’t need that kind of annoyance while playing. 

Pocketing the room key, Beth leaves quietly. 

-

So far, hotels are all the same. Their furnishings and quality may differ, but at their roots, there is no creativity. Makes it easy to find the lounge with waiters, ordering a pot of coffee after she sinks into a plush leather armchair. (Thoughts of sleep already tease her mind, but caffeine will fix that right up.)

She sets up the board and her coffee, sips deeply. Bitterness and wakefulness splash into her mouth, and she glances up to see a man looking at her, two tables down. Wearing an over-sized leather coat and hat, looking more like a cowboy than anything else, Beth gathers this must be Watts. The reigning US champion Matt and Mike told her about. 

He raises an eyebrow, and Beth doesn’t drop her gaze, opening with the knight. 

Both of his eyebrows jump at that. “Amar? That’s one of the worst opening moves.” 

Beth shrugs, sipping her coffee. 

“Pawn to D5.” 

She moves the black pawn, saying, “I could’ve started with H4.” 

He chuckles, standing up and joining her, “Twenty-five moves top, and you’ve already lost the center.” He sits, extending a hand, “Benny Watts.” 

She shakes, “Beth Harmon.” 

He tilts his head, “Harmon… the kid that beat Beltik?” 

She pushes up her pawn, “Yes.” 

“Y’know, there’s a reason they call it the drunken knight opening,” Benny says, leaning over the board to look up at her from under his hat. 

It’s distracting, and she doesn’t care for the cheap ploy one bit. “It’s your turn.” 

“Yeah, you’re too young for that.” He laughs easy, sliding back and folding his fingers together. “So it is.”

-

Beth doesn’t put much stock in titles anymore; Benny’s much better than she expected. His moves are quick and decisive, and he sees through the traps she attempts. Doesn’t stop her from forcing him into certain places, taking certain pieces - it’s the most intriguing game she’s played in ages. Wonders how it would’ve gone had she opened regularly. (Well. He wouldn’t have sat down to play, so very shortly and entirely in her head is how.)

He’s beautiful, but it’s easy to be beautiful when playing well. She wonders, fancifully, how many games it would take before she grew bored of playing him. As he moves his bishop in an unexpected way, she imagines a rather long time indeed. 

Thirty-four moves, and Benny stops, whistles low. “Very nice. Draw?” 

She blinks up at him, surprised. They’ve only just ended the middle game. As they do have fairly even pieces, a knight in Benny’s favor, she should be the one asking. And she rather hates draws, almost as much as losing. They feel incomplete. Inadequate. Unsatisfying. 

“I was supposed to be out of here by ten,” he confesses to her silence with a rueful smile. “Couldn’t help myself with the Amar Opening.” 

Beth wants to shake her head, demand they play to the very end. But Alma’s managed to instill some modicum of manners in her, so she shakes his hand instead. 

“You aren’t playing in the tournament?” 

“Nah, not this time kid.” 

She frowns as she takes her hand back, “I wanted to finish.” 

Benny laughs, standing up. “We’ll play again. Next time, you’ll finish.” 

Heat coils in her gut at the promise, and she tells herself it’s just the chess. Just that she’s found someone new to challenge her. 

“Good.” 

-

As Beth expected, she wins the open. None of the matches are nearly as interesting as her morning one with Benny. Her and Alma have a decadent overpriced breakfast, and Alma has a notated copy of Chess Review with upcoming competitions ranked by profitability. She wonders if Benny will be in any of them.

Best perhaps that he isn’t, she needs to be earning money not… allowing herself to be distracted. 

Besides, she’ll play him properly in the US Open. 

(Alma’s very excited about the possibility of traveling abroad, and Beth can’t deny the allure of Parisian fashion.)


End file.
